You'd think that out in front of the rectory of a Catholic church, they'd put like a Nativity scene or something like that. Evidently, one of the priests at my church, who's about 7-8 years older than I am, doesn't think that way. Instead, he put out a giant inflatable Homer Claus . I like it but my folks hate it.

--------------------

Mike F.

May the Irish hills caress you.May her lakes and rivers bless you.May the luck of the Irish enfold you.May the blessings of Saint Patrick behold you.

Picture this: Red lights on the eaves, white net lights on the boxwoods, an average sized, but tsatefully decorated blue spruce in the picture window. What drove my neighbor creazy was the half dozen lawn flamingos with red bow ties in the front yard.

It is very sad to see the depths to which commercialism has infected Christmas .... I am not Christian or Catholic .... I am Pagan .... but I abhor the way society has bastardized the season .... let all beliefs or non-beliefs co-exist without the curse of advertising which only caters to the greed and innocence of children in our society .... I have Jehovah's Witness in my family and the scope of advertising makes them feel totally out of the loop .... Christmas is for Christians and should remain such .... but there is a few of us others out there

I am not a person who likes to argue. But I do have to disagree with you on this one.

Christmas is not really a Christian Religion. It just so happens as in many other Holidays that the Christians use the times that other Religion, Faiths and whatever else there is, for their own use too.

Christmas is not the blame for advertising. The Advertising Industry abuses all Holidays.

Even though I am not a Christian myself, I still like looking at the decorations that is out there. Some are really nice and artistic and others, well I just won't go there.

--------------------

May your days be filled with Merriment and May you walk in Balance with Creator.

In the small fishing village of Inglis FL where my sister lives, one of her neighbors decorated her lawn one year with some old Christmas lights that she bought at a garage sale - all red bulbs. So someone commented about her "red light district" and the neighbor decided to not only keep the red lights but to add to it! So now that whole entire yard is covered in red Christmas lights - every palm tree, every tropical bush, and every twig or fishing line that will hold a string of lights! Its fun and great for a hearty laugh while sitting on the porch in balmy 80' weather that is Winter in Florida!

My neighbor... oh goodness... Every year he puts up lights on his house... in shapes of the local radio stations calls and icons, American Flags, and he lights up the ceramic skunks on his lawn... I swear its worse than the Griswald's Christmas.m I have to shut the bedroom doors on the front of the house so I can sleep.

It is very sad to see the depths to which commercialism has infected Christmas .... I am not Christian or Catholic .... I am Pagan .... but I abhor the way society has bastardized the season .... let all beliefs or non-beliefs co-exist without the curse of advertising which only caters to the greed and innocence of children in our society .... I have Jehovah's Witness in my family and the scope of advertising makes them feel totally out of the loop .... Christmas is for Christians and should remain such .... but there is a few of us others out there

Good God man. There is such a thing as having too much conviction. How do you not go insane being bothered by everything.

Step back and look at what you're complaining about. It makes people happy, and treat each other better. It hurts, NO ONE!!! Chill out and join the rest of us by smiling.

Santa isn't about Christianity, just so you know. The only thing Christian left in the holiday is the occasional, and I mean that, Nativity scene. Maybe one on every block, and that's stretching it. It's only a Christian holiday to Christians. To everyone else it's a time for giving, caring, and spending time with those you love. I fail to see the evil in that.

It's up to the parents how they want their kids to view the season. If they want them to be greedy, then they make Christmas about the gifts. If they want them to see it as a time of giving and warmth and love, then they sing songs, drink apple cider, give their old toys to the needy and drop a few bucks in the Salvation Army kettle.

--------------------

Caw

"I am a Canadian by birth, but I am a Highlander by blood and feel under an obligation to do all I can for the sake of the Highlanders and their literature.... I have never yet spoken a word of English to any of my children. They can speak as much English as they like to others, but when they talk to me they have to talk in Gaelic."

Here's the history of Christmas. It was Christianized, like many other holidays like Easter for example.

QUOTE

The history of Christmas dates back over 4000 years. Many of our Christmas traditions were celebrated centuries before the Christ child was born. The 12 days of Christmas, the bright fires, the yule log, the giving of gifts, carnivals(parades) with floats, carolers who sing while going from house to house, the holiday feasts, and the church processions can all be traced back to the early Mesopotamians. Many of these traditions began with the Mesopotamian celebration of New Years. The Mesopotamians believed in many gods, and as their chief god - Marduk. Each year as winter arrived it was believed that Marduk would do battle with the monsters of chaos. To assist Marduk in his struggle the Mesopotamians held a festival for the New Year. This was Zagmuk, the New Year's festival that lasted for 12 days.

The Mesopotamian king would return to the temple of Marduk and swear his faithfulness to the god. The traditions called for the king to die at the end of the year and to return with Marduk to battle at his side.

To spare their king, the Mesopotamians used the idea of a "mock" king. A criminal was chosen and dressed in royal clothes. He was given all the respect and privileges of a real king. At the end of the celebration the "mock" king was stripped of the royal clothes and slain, sparing the life of the real king.

The Persians and the Babylonians celebrated a similar festival called the Sacaea. Part of that celebration included the exchanging of places, the slaves would become the masters and the masters were to obey.

Early Europeans believed in evil spirits, witches, ghosts and trolls. As the Winter Solstice approached, with its long cold nights and short days, many people feared the sun would not return. Special rituals and celebrations were held to welcome back the sun.

In Scandinavia during the winter months the sun would disappear for many days. After thirty-five days scouts would be sent to the mountain tops to look for the return of the sun. When the first light was seen the scouts would return with the good news. A great festival would be held, called the Yuletide, and a special feast would be served around a fire burning with the Yule log. Great bonfires would also be lit to celebrate the return of the sun. In some areas people would tie apples to branches of trees to remind themselves that spring and summer would return.

The ancient Greeks held a festival similar to that of the Zagmuk/Sacaea festivals to assist their god Kronos who would battle the god Zeus and his Titans.

The Roman's celebrated their god Saturn. Their festival was called Saturnalia which began the middle of December and ended January 1st. With cries of "Jo Saturnalia!" the celebration would include masquerades in the streets, big festive meals, visiting friends, and the exchange of good-luck gifts called Strenae (lucky fruits).

The Romans decked their halls with garlands of laurel and green trees lit with candles. Again the masters and slaves would exchange places.

"Jo Saturnalia!" was a fun and festive time for the Romans, but the Christians though it an abomination to honor the pagan god. The early Christians wanted to keep the birthday of their Christ child a solemn and religious holiday, not one of cheer and merriment as was the pagan Saturnalia.

But as Christianity spread they were alarmed by the continuing celebration of pagan customs and Saturnalia among their converts. At first the Church forbid this kind of celebration. But it was to no avail. Eventually it was decided that the celebration would be tamed and made into a celebration fit for the Christian Son of God.

Some legends claim that the Christian "Christmas" celebration was invented to compete against the pagan celebrations of December. The 25th was not only sacred to the Romans but also the Persians whose religion Mithraism was one of Christianity's main rivals at that time. The Church eventually was successful in taking the merriment, lights, and gifts from the Saturanilia festival and bringing them to the celebration of Christmas.

The exact day of the Christ child's birth has never been pinpointed. Traditions say that it has been celebrated since the year 98 AD. In 137 AD the Bishop of Rome ordered the birthday of the Christ Child celebrated as a solemn feast. In 350 AD another Bishop of Rome, Julius I, choose December 25th as the observance of Christmas.

I don't mind anybody's beliefs but only as long people don't want to lecture me about mine

(Shakes finger at Aon in stead of lecture) What.......don't look at me like that MirriI just given ya a wee bit of a tease lass.

Good point more history to be had on the Christmas Holiday for those that care to look. May be it's best to look at it for the fun and festivity

That's why I like my anual search for a large stone chipped head. (I actually found one in a local shop last year but when I went back to put it in layaway it was already sold ) Oh well it's the hunt that I live for